Should I keep my old car or buy another one?

facade

Ford are just not very good at putting cars together, (they aren't the only ones, my woeful Renault Nissan leaks like a sieve) there are hundreds of articles and YouTube videos on "solving" Focus boot leaks for the various versions .

e.g.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3ljDTLwJIk

The reason your garage won't touch it is that it could easily cost you hundreds in labour, and still not cure the leak!

Have a look for obvious leaks, and if that doesn't work just park it in the garage to keep the rain off it, and get a couple of bags of desiccant to keep on the dash board.

Herzlos

J2637 said:

Herzlos what you say about insurance and towing is very helpful. I think if I don't replace the cam belt I should check my insurance. I am guessing I should read through the documents in detail to see what I am covered for, rather than asking them on the phone.

There are usually clauses about not covering pre-existing faults or faults due to lack of maintenance. The lack of maintenance would cover a failure caused by an overdue belt change BUT I'm not sure how easy it'd be for them to prove that's what happened especially if they can't find the belt.

Ibrahim5

I have a 'trusted' garage that do my MOTs. If I ever ask for advice on whether an expensive MOT repair is a good idea they will never commit. I assume they are too nervous about saying it's a good car and then something else expensive happening.

chrisw

Herzlos said:

J2637 said:

Herzlos what you say about insurance and towing is very helpful. I think if I don't replace the cam belt I should check my insurance. I am guessing I should read through the documents in detail to see what I am covered for, rather than asking them on the phone.

There are usually clauses about not covering pre-existing faults or faults due to lack of maintenance. The lack of maintenance would cover a failure caused by an overdue belt change BUT I'm not sure how easy it'd be for them to prove that's what happened especially if they can't find the belt.

I've never been asked to provide a service history before being recovered and I would guess not many people have. I suspect it's a bit of a catch all clause to stop people driving round in unmaintained sheds and repeatedly relying on breakdown recovery as and when something breaks.

HHarry

Mark_d said:

If you spend £750 on you car, it would be worth £200.  That doesn't sound like like a clever move to me.

The reason your 24 year old car would only be worth £200 is because at that age many parts/components will start to fail.

My advice would be to get rid of your car in it's current state, maybe try webuyanycar.com , and buy a newish car (say under 5 years old).

A newer car would likely be more fuel efficient, safer, more environmentally-friendly...

It’s worth £200 to WBAC, that’s very different to how much it’s actually worth.  Any car with a years MOT has got to be worth something like £1k,  so at worst if you get the work done you’re quits.  You might get another 2 or 3 years out of it and still get £1k.

 If it does everything you need it to do, and you’re happy with it then I’d keep it.

J2637

Thanks so much all.

That's a great video facade, thanks! I'll have a go looking at the areas he mentioned and maybe I'll buy some silicone stuff. I like his final tip, if you don't want to find leaks, don't go looking!

I hadn't heard of dessicant bags for cars - I just found them on amazon and I might buy them, as they sound very useful for the main body of the car.

Hmm that's a good point for insurance, about pre-existing faults and whether they can prove it with the cam belt.

Fingers crossed the MOT check goes well and doesn't bring up more faults.

J2637

 @Cressida100, I was just re-reading the thread and noticed you said you pay £30 a year for your car tax. Could I ask how you got it so cheap? I paid £325 last year ...

Goudy

Cars registered Pre March 2001 pay one of two flat rates, which depends on engine size.
Vehicle tax rates: Cars and light goods vehicles registered before 1 March 2001 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Cars registered between April 2001 and March 2017 had their tax rates based on CO2 emissions.
They are banded like this
Vehicle tax rates: Cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

From April 2017 it changed again.
You pay a set rate in the first year based on emissions.
From the second it's a flat rate (with a discount for electric and alternative fuels, but the government are planning to remove this discount next April)
Vehicle tax rates: Cars registered on or after 1 April 2017 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

J2637

Ah thank you @Goudy .

So it sounds like I did pay the right rate after all, as mine was registered in 2000 and is a 1.6 litre size.

Will be £345 next time ...

caprikid1

"If you spend £750 on you car, it would be worth £200.  That doesn't sound like like a clever move to me."

If I buy a new car it's instantly depreciates.. If I buy a new car for £25,000 as soon as I drive it out the showroom its work £21,000 .. does not seem a clever move to me.

On a 2000 car you cannot use WBAC prices as they just don't want it, a 2000 car with receipts for tyres and exhausts etc will be worth more.

Focus's are strong , reliable and cheap to fix. £750 equates to £60 a month, lease me a car for £60 a month for 12 months.

The risk of replacement is as it stands the OP can walk away at the next major bill, if the buy a used car for £10K then they cannot walk away from a major bill.